Diversity And Abundance of Arthropods Infesting Economic Trees in The Federal School of Forestry, Plateau State, North Central Nigeria

Arthropod diversity is crucial for the survival of economic trees, as arthropods serve as pests, pollinators, decomposers and herbivores.This study aimed to investigate the diversity and abundance of arthropods on economically important trees.During the rainy season (June-July 2023), arthropods were collected using hand-picking, beating and sweep-netting methods.A total of 883 arthropods were collected from 28 different economic tree species, with 188 (21.41%) collected using sweep netting, 63 (7.13%) using the beating method and 631 (71.46%) through hand-picking.These arthropods belonged to 4 classes, 13 orders, 51 families and 69 species.The Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H) for the arthropod community was 4.07535, indicating a high level of diversity.This index also revealed significant variations in arthropod diversity, with Hymenoptera, Formicidae and Monomorium minimum being the most abundant taxa and Monomorium minimum being the most diverse arthropod, identified on 12 out of 28 economic tree species.This study highlights the strong association between economic trees and arthropods, with trees influencing arthropod diversity while providing benefits such as food, shelter and breeding grounds.Therefore, biological conservation is essential for maintaining a healthy ecosystem.